Background

•The Orange County Board of Supervisors this month approved plans to expand the James A. Musick Facility jail by more than500 beds. The facility houses minimum- and medium-security inmates.

•The jail now is a hodgepodge of modular, portable and permanent buildings as well as tent-like structures with about 1,300 beds. The new plans call for dormitory-like buildings housing 512 beds, financed through $100million in state-issued bonds. The plans still require state approval. The target date for occupancy is 2019.

•The county Sheriff's Department, which runs the jails, signed an agreement with Lake Forest last month, promising among other things not to house maximum-security inmates at Musick jail in exchange for the city's promise not to file another lawsuit aimed at halting expansion.

IRVINE – The city isn't giving up on its opposition to Orange County's plan to expand the James A. Musick Facility jail by more than 500 beds and might file a new lawsuit if necessary.

The city filed suit in January challenging the expansion on an environmental basis, but an Orange County Superior Court judge ruled in the county's favor in November. OnDec. 18 at a special meeting, the City Council voted unanimously in closed session to appeal the court's decision.

Also, the council authorized its lawyer to take further action "as deemed necessary" related to the jail decision.

"This may entail the filing of a new lawsuit," said Philip Kohn, a lawyer with Rutan & Tucker LLP, which represents the city.

He said that option would be a last resort if ongoing discussions between the city and county were unsuccessful.

The jail sits on unincorporated land bordering Lake Forest and Irvine. Lake Forest has recently supported the expansion.

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